A taskmaster who worked his players hard, his practices featured the dreaded grass drills, his training camp required grueling physical exertion. "If you cheat on the practice field, you'll cheat in the game," he said, "and if you cheat in the game, you'll cheat the rest of your life."

"He treated us all alike... like dogs," joked Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle Henry Jordan, who also said, "When Coach Lombardi says to sit down, I don't even look for a chair."

Lombardi was a man of strong faith who believed in discipline, sacrifice, and hard work. "There's only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything. I do, and I demand that my players do."

"I'll always feel sorry for those football players that never had the chance to play at least one game for Coach Lombardi," Starr once explained about his mentor.

"He made us all better than we thought we could be," agreed teammate Jerry Kramer, author of Instant Replay.

"Once a man has made a commitment to a way of life, he puts the greateststrength in the world behind him. It's something we call heart power," Lombardi said. "Once a man has made this commitment, nothing will stop him short of success."